@Guy Gimenez holds one in south Austin, and @Mike Walker organizes one hosted by @Lynn Currie - great people and great content to get you started! 

We also have two real estate investor organizations in the area that are very active and informative.

I understand the 2/1 is not a desirable floor plan to start with, but wanted to educate myself on an objective way of analyzing such deals the way an appraiser would.

There are a few main factors that might sway your decision one way or the other; time available, access to capital, your network, your objective and most importantly what you have a passion for.

I have concerns about working with one of these types of organizations because I'm not sure what the likelihood of paying rent will be once the renter is on their own. 

@Shamus Quirkdepends on how you define it based on your objective.

If you have one near you maybe you should consider reaching out to the group's organizer and saying "Hey.

P.S- I was considering opening up a property management company seeing as how I'm going to be managing my own and I wouldn't mind the work as it is mostly about being highly organized.

My wife and I are in the beginning stages of organizing our real estate business.

Real estate requires abstract thinking, an ability to organize variables and constraints to effect a desired outcome.